A general view of power plant number 10 at Saudi Electricity Company’s Central Operation Area, south of Riyadh, in this April 27, 2012 file photo.

More than 17,000 citizens here plan to sue the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) because it has allegedly failed to compensate them for losses caused by prolonged power outages a year ago during Ramadan.

The power outages last year in several Taif neighborhoods had forced a number of residents to leave their homes and rent accommodation at rest houses and furnished apartments because of the intense summer heat.

The outages had affected many residential areas including Al-Anood, Umm Al-Sibaa, Al-Washaa and Al-Shuhadaa.

The residents claimed the outage damaged their appliances and saw their food go rotten.

“We filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against the SEC at its Taif branch, but the company is stalling,” said citizen Awaad bin Amer. He said subscribers would file a lawsuit at the Board of Grievances because their initial complaint was allegedly ignored.

He said residents are worried because they believe there are likely to be power outages with the onset of summer and Ramadan this year.

Hisham Halawani, director of the SEC in Taif, said the Ministry of Water and Electricity is currently studying the complaints of the citizens.

“The power cuts were caused by heavy storms that hit Taif,” he said. The storm hit Al-Shuhadaa electric plant and burned part of it, which led to cuts in electricity provision to 17,134 subscribers, he said.